Teen to be tried as minor in Aptos party beating

FELTON &GT;&GT; An Aptos 17-year-old accused of beating a 71-year-old man outside an Aptos house party will face a trial as a juvenile, a judge ruled Tuesday.

During a high school party on Skyward Drive the night of March 1, Michael Mora, his wife and another resident were trying to get teens to move their cars that blocked the road, authorities and witnesses said.

The teen attacked Mora from behind, knocking him to the ground, Santa Cruz County sheriff's deputies said. The teen then pinned Mora and continued to attack him, deputies said.

Mora was taken to a hospital and had emergency brain surgery, his family said. He is doing well but he has not fully recovered, his wife, Shauna Mora, said Tuesday.

After a fitness hearing that finished Tuesday at Santa Cruz County Juvenile Hall in Felton, Judge Heather Morse ruled that the teen will be charged with felony assault with great bodily injury as a minor. The Sentinel has not named the teen because he is a minor.

"We're not surprised and we are disappointed," Shauna Mora said of the outcome.

"We think she (Morse) has been very fair and measured in all her considerations."

Shauna Mora also thanked prosecutors for their work on the case so far.

In the teen's hearing, Morse considered five factors required by state law: The teen's criminal record, the severity of the crime, his success in prior rehabilitation attempts, the criminal sophistication of the crime and whether the minor is likely to benefit from the rehabilitate services of juvenile delinquency court.